Once of the key skills to learn as a blind person is how to walk up and down stairs. It may seem like a dangerous thing to do but, with the right method it is safe. After keeping a few tricks in mind, you can walk up and down stairs with confidence.
First, you should know how to find steps going up. This may not always be clear because it may seem like it is a wall. To fix this, raise your cane a little higher than usual when you are searching for the first step up.
Once you’ve found the first step, you can begin walking up. Do this by tapping the step above your front foot and then stepping up. This will let you know that you need to step up. At the top of the stairs you will feel your cane swing but hit nothing. This means that you should step up one more time and are now at the top.
To walk down the stairs, you need to feel your cane drop lower than the ground you’re walking on. You will then feel the cane make contact with a few more surfaces, one lower than the previous.
Once you’ve found your steps going down, use the cane to keep feeling the next step down. As you do so, always keep the cane ahead of you. At the bottom, you will try to lower the cane further but, cannot. This means that you only have a step or two. After you feel yourself at the same level with the cane, you are now on the ground again.
With great techniques like this, it cane make navigation so much more adept. Over time, you will be able to walk up and down stairs without having to pause and inspect. Rather, you will notice when it’s time to step and when it’s time to stop.